Red Wings News

Puck drops on Thursday, Oct. 5 vs. Minnesota Wild; 41-game home schedule features 17 Friday, Saturday or Sunday dates and eight visits from Original Six foes

by
Kyle Kujawa
/ DetroitRedWings.com

DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings today released their 2017-18 schedule for the team's Inaugural Season at Little Caesars Arena and 92nd overall in the National Hockey League. The team's state-of-the-art facility will open its doors for its first NHL regular-season game on Thursday, Oct. 5 versus the Minnesota Wild. Little Caesars Arena will host 17 weekend home games (five Fridays, seven Saturdays and five Sundays), spanning all the way until the regular-season finale at home on Saturday, April 7 against the New York Islanders.

This season's 82-game slate includes four games against each Atlantic Division rival (28 games), three games against the eight teams in the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division (24 games) and two games against all 15 Western Conference foes (30 games).

Detroit will start a four-game road trip following their Little Caesars Arena home opener, including their first-ever game against the expansion Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, Oct. 13 at T-Mobile Arena. The contest is the second leg of the first of 12 back-to-back sets during the 2017-18 campaign, after 17 such instances in 2016-17. The Red Wings will wait longer to welcome the Golden Knights to Detroit, as Vegas' lone trip to the Motor City this season will be Thursday, March 8.

After hosting five games among the Red Wings' first 17 of the season, the on-ice action at Little Caesars Arena will be in full swing starting on Saturday, Nov. 11 (Columbus Blue Jackets) for the busiest home stretch of the season, featuring a span of 13 home games over a 15-game period through Friday, Dec. 15 (Toronto Maple Leafs). The Red Wings will play five consecutive home games twice in that stretch - matching the longest homestand of the season - from Nov. 11-22 and Dec. 5-15. The heavy home schedule continues after the holiday season, as a four-game road trip from Dec. 19-27 precedes the team's third and final five-game homestand from Dec. 29-Jan. 7, capping off a period of 18-of-24 games at Little Caesars Arena.

Special nights on the 2017-18 docket include a home Halloween game (Tuesday, Oct. 31) against the Arizona Coyotes and the return of the Red Wings' traditional New Year's Eve home game (Sunday, Dec. 31) versus the defending Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Detroit has secured a win in each of its last four Halloween games, showing an all-time record of 11-7-4-0, and have won nine of its last 12 NYE games for a 35-24-8-1 all-time mark.

A road-heavy second-half schedule affords the Red Wings a four-game homestand from Feb. 18-24 prior to two season-long five-game road trips (Feb. 25-March 6 and March 9-18), which comprise the bulk of a stretch that will see Detroit play just two home games (March 8 vs. Vegas and March 20 vs. Philadelphia) over 15 games between Feb. 25-March 26. Following that stretch, the Red Wings will wrap up the 2017-18 campaign with four of six games back at Little Caesars Arena, including the final two games of the regular season on Thursday, April 5 vs. Montreal and Saturday, April 7 vs. New York Islanders.

Single-game tickets for the 2017-18 regular season go on sale Monday, Aug. 28 and can be purchased at the Joe Louis Arena and Fox Theatre Box Offices, all Ticketmaster outlets (800-745-3000) or online at www.DetroitRedWings.com.The Little Caesars Arena Box Office is set to open in September.

2017-18 FULL SEASON TICKET PLANS AVAILABLE FOR INAUGURAL SEASON AT LITTLE CAESARS ARENA

Red Wings full season tickets are now available for the Inaugural Season at Little Caesars Arena. Fans who purchase 2017-18 season tickets receive great benefits, such as savings off box office prices, playoff priority, invitations to exclusive season ticket holder-only events, merchandise discounts, access to event presales and much more. Information on Red Wings full season ticket plans can be obtained by visiting www.LittleCaesarsArenaTicketPlans.com, or by calling the Red Wings' Ticket Sales & Service Office at 313-471-7575.